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The Self-Taught Investor

1 - I can do better 2 - Jury's out 3 - Pretty darn good 4 - Splendiferous 5 - Awesometastic (by 6 people)   Your rating: 1 - I can do better 2 - Jury's out 3 - Pretty darn good 4 - Splendiferous 5 - Awesometastic

Ranked #6075 in How-To, #61735 overall

Rated G. (Control what you see)

Do It Yourself Investing

 

It seems that many people have a fear of investing and think it's something best left to Wall Street wizards. But it's not really hard to do, especially if you are willing to spend a little time learning the basics, and don't let emotions get in the way.

The internet, TV, and print media are chock-full of information for anyone who wants to give it a try, and now websites like UpDown and Forex.com make it possible for you to try your hand without actually investing any money.

I'm an amateur learning one step at a time, and my aim is to share what I'm learning with anyone who wants to give it a try. So if you want to learn how to be your own investor, read on!



p.s. Don't let the volatility scare you! Educate yourself and learn how to make smart, unemotional decisions. Don't forget, when the market is at the bottom you can find great deals on stocks...

Resources for the self-taught investor 

These are some of the basic resources you want to know about if you want to learn how to be your own investor.
Yahoo! Finance
At Yahoo! Finance, you get free stock quotes, up to date news, portfolio management resources, international market data, message boards, and mortgage rates that help you manage your financial life. Full of excellent resources and easy to us.
cnbc.com
Home of Jim Cramer's Mad Money, the fun and interesting show Fast Money, and many resources to help you learn and make a few bucks.
MSN Money
MSN Money is the comprehensive source for your money and personal finance needs. Read business news, get stock quotes, research investments, track your portfolio and manage your accounts in one place. MSN Money has personal finance planning centers for retirement, college, taxes, insurance, savings,
Morningstar
Morningstar is one of the most informative, user-friendly, and popular services for investors. It is probably most famous for its ratings of mutual funds, but at the website you'll also find plenty of information about stocks, hedge funds, ETFs, and other types of investments. The site has a number of investing tools and calculators as well. Morningstar offers both free and premium services.
FoxBusiness.com
Business news and financial news from FOXBusiness.com. If it's available on your system (cable, phone, satellite), you should check out Fox's TV channel. I don't have it on my cable system, so I can't tell you much about it. But it's CNBC's competition, and I'd bet Murdoch's team trying to make it good.
Bloomberg
The granddaddy of them all! You don't need a fancy (and expensive) piece of equipment to learn from Bloomberg. Just check out the website, and if you have it (cable, satellite, phone), Bloomberg Television.
ETF Guide
Exchange-traded funds, also known as ETFs, are low cost index mutual funds that trade like stocks. This site will help you learn all about them.
LearnInvesting.com
Information and tools to educate and empower you.
The Investment FAQ: Home Page
The Investment FAQ is your clear, concise, and unbiased guide to investments and personal finance. You'll find answers to frequently asked questions about stocks, bonds, mutual funds, options, investment strategies, internet brokers, retirement plans, and much more. Maintained by Christopher Lott.

Financial Publications Online 

get educated!

Every investor should be familiar with these media.
Financial Times
The latest European and international business, finance, economic and political news, comment and analysis from the Financial Times on FT.com
Fortune
This is one that I read both in print and online.
Forbes
Business and financial news. Warren Buffet shows up in many of their articles.
Investor's Business Daily
Detailed stock quotes, charts, business news, investment advice, market research and a stock market learning center.
Wall Street Journal
Of course!
Barron's
Calls itself the world's leading business publication. At Barrons.com users can access financial investment news online as well as personal finance news.
SmartMoney
Find stock market quotes, stock and mutual fund picks, breaking business news, market analysis, personal finance advice and more.
Money
Money magazine online
Kiplinger.com
Personal finance advice, business forecasting, investing advice, and financial management tools. Kiplinger.com hosts all of the best personal finance advice and business forecasts Kiplinger has to offer.
BusinessWeek
International business news & stock market news, updated company profiles, financial advice, global economy and technology news.

Spotlight! 

The Secrets of Economic Indicators: Hidden Clues to Future Economic Trends and Investment Opportunities

Find out for yourself why this book is #11 on the Squidoo Bestseller List for 2007.

Learn how to use economic indicators indicators to make smarter investment decisions, just like the professionals do. You don't need an economics degree, or a CPA... just this easy-to-use book.

The Secrets of Economic Indicators: Hidden Clues to Future Economic Trends and Investment Opportunities, 2nd Edition

Amazon Price: $12.91 (as of 07/27/2008)
List Price: $18.99
Used Price: $11.63

Usually ships in 24 hours

Practice Investing Without Risk! 

a good way to get your feet wet....

If you're new to investing, you might be a bit nervous, and understandably so. After all, no one wants to lose any of their hard-earned money.

UpDown is a great way to get started without any risk. It's a social network for virtual investing that provides a platform where investors can practice investing and read high-quality stock analysis.

That by itself is great, but there's more - you can earn money too, based on how much your portfolio beats the S&P 500 index in any given month and how well your portfolio did in the past. UpDown has a number of groups that you can join, and it's also a good place for investment clubs to hang out. The site is definitely worth a look! Visit UpDown.com.

Mad Money Mad Cap 

The latest posts from Mad Money

The Mad Cap Recap gives you real-time summaries of each night's show. Learn from Cramer!

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Glad to take your money! 

Resources where new investors can put their money (but if you're experienced, no problem!)
Sharebuilder.com
ShareBuilder, a service of ING, is one good place for beginners to start. It offers automatic investing which allows you to buy stocks in whole dollar amounts. For the more advanced, ShareBuilder offers real-time trades, options trading, and margin borrowing.

Learn how to trade in the foreign exchange market with NO risk 

FOREX.com provides advanced trading tools, 24-hour customer support, and a secure online trading experience as part of its commitment to offer more to the individual investor. AND, you can set up a free practice account with real-time executable quotes in 22 currency pairs, powerful charting package for technical analysis, 24-hour news headlines, research and more. Go ahead - test your strategies under real market conditions, with no risk and no obligation.

Stock Market News 

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Cramer and CNBC on YouTube 

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MARKET MELTDOWN

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Cramer: Bernanke, Wake Up

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Ron Paul on Mad Money w/ Jim C...

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Jim Cramer: The Flip-Flop that...

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Jim Cramer Of Mad Money & Gar...

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Rick Santelli Takes Down Jim C...

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Jim Cramer - Cut Rates

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Ron Paul on Mad Money with Jim...

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Jim Cramer: "Bear Stearns is F...

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Fast Money Rapid Recap 

Official synopsis of the Fast Money TV show

Watch Fast Money - these guys and gals are outspoken, fun, smart, and entertaining. And they can help you make some money fast, even if you are an investing newbie.

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Can't Get Enough of MadMoney with Jim Cramer? 

Squidoo has given us this great widget with the bobblehead!

BloggingStocks 

BloggingStocks covers some of America's most widely-held stocks. I've found it to be a good place to learn.
(Personal note: as an eBay seller, I've especially enjoyed the coverage of eBay AND the comments posted by readers of the eBay blog.)

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Who doesn't love Dylan Ratigan? 

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Dylan Ratigan on CNBC

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Dylan Ratigan on New York 360

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Happy Halloween from Dylan Rat...

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Dylan Ratigan "The More You Kn...

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Dylan Ratigan on CNBC

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Dylan Ratigan "The More You Kn...

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Or Maria Bartiromo? 

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Advice on becoming a reporter ...

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Joey Ramone live 2000 @ The Co...

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McCain Talks Economy with Mari...

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Robert Greenwald fights for th...

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Charles Biderman, Maria Bartir...

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''Money Honey'' Maria Bartirom...

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Talk Stock Trading 

"where talk is money"

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....and even Larry Kudlow? 

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Alaska Governor Sarah Palin on...

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The Circus Came to Town: An Op...

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CNBC Larry Kudlow about Libert...

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Larry Kudlow, Interest Rates, ...

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Larry Kudlow Economics 101

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Kudlow & Company, April 2, 200...

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What have YOU learned? 

Have you learned something about investing that you want to share with others? Please tell us about it here.

anilg

Nice lens with lots of useful information. If you are willing to make money online, then please visit my lens

Posted June 26, 2008

Silver_Lotus

Thank you!

Posted February 25, 2008

NewRiver

Excellent! Saw you on the stores board.

Posted February 25, 2008

sisterra

great lens - saw you on the stores board

Posted February 16, 2008

Silver_Lotus

Thank you!

Posted February 07, 2008

 
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About Silver_Lotus

I've been a successful amateur investor for a long time and enjoy passing along what I've learned to others. I hope the information and resources in this lens will help you learn how to be your own investor. Go for it!

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